Trollheart

Yeah sorry, it's called On an Island. Which, no doubt, he owns. And where that kind of sappy soft-rock/ambient drivel belongs.

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Trollheart

Album title: Barclay James Harvest
Artist: Barclay James Harvest
Nationality: English
Label: EMI
Chronology: Debut
Grade: B
Previous Experience of this Artist: I’ve heard about two songs, one of which used to close Radio Luxembourg’s broadcast for the night I think
The Trollheart Factor: 1
Landmark value: Not certain; I don’t believe they had any huge lasting effect on prog rock, though I could be wrong and I guess we’ll see. None of the names involved look like they went on to more famous bands either. Two of the founder members, in fact, appear to have died early in this century.
Tracklisting: Taking Some Time On/Mother Dear/The Sun Will Never Shine/When the World Was Woken/Good Love Child/The Iron Maiden/Dark Now My Sky
Comments: Sounds a bit folky or bluegrass when it starts with “Taking Some Time On” then it turns into a fairly uptempo rock song, I believe they once released a song called “Poor Man’s Moody Blues” and that’s definitely the sense I get from them. Very similar, and they also use an orchestra on this album as did the Moodies. You can hear the change from straight-ahead rock to a more orchestral proggy tune in “Mother Dear”, but again it’s Moody Blues V. 2.0 and while I really love the Beatles-infused “The Sun Will Never Shine” the comparison won’t go away. I guess this must have dogged them through their career.

I must admit, nice song though it is, the vocal on “When the World Was Woken” seems totally limp and boring. Great organ work on it though and it has a real cinematic feel, very sweeping and majestic. Total change then with “Good Love Child” which is a simple rock tune, and to be completely fair, not a great one. Very generic, could be any band. I guess at least it doesn’t make them sound like the azure ones, whereas “The Iron Maiden” very much does, a slower, kind of pastoral ballad. The album ends on an epic, the twelve-minute “Dark Now My Sky”, which given the title you’d expect either to be whiny or ominous and threatening, however it starts with slow hollow drumming and speech, kind of as if someone is acting out on stage.

It soon comes to life though on a big orchestral intro (in terms of music anyway) and apart from the pretty ridiculous-sounding start (though it may have some significance: I couldn’t make out the words used or the context in which they were spoken, but it seemed to be like someone in a play) this is easily the best track on the album, but that doesn’t mean the rest isn’t mostly high-quality too. A very impressive debut. If only the Moodies hadn’t got there first.

Favourite track(s): Everything bar Good Love Child
Least favourite track(s): Good Love Child
Overall impression: It’s really sad for BJH that the Moody Blues were around at the same time, recording the same sort of albums and also using orchestras, as these guys then look like they were copying them, which I’m sure they weren’t. But it’s the perception that lasts in the end, and as I said they seem to have accepted this some years later, even writing a song called “Poor Man’s Moody Blues”. Despite all this, they seem to have been quite successful.
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The Batlord

*puts down gun, leaves bell tower*

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grindy

The violin sound on Mary, Mary comes from a guitar.
Glad you dug the album btw, it's one of my all time faves.

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Trollheart

Seriously? I did wonder. Guy has got to be some player to be able to do that. I would have sworn it was a violin - had this been a few years later I'd have staked my meagre fortune that it was on synthesiser.

Thanks. Can't imagine how I missed it out originally. Blame Wiki I guess.

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Trollheart

Album title: Supertramp
Artist: Supertramp
Nationality: English
Label: A&M
Chronology: Debut
Grade: B
Previous Experience of this Artist: Big Supertramp fan; have all their albums
The Trollheart Factor: 10
Landmark value: Little really; I feel this and the next album they released went largely unremarked, and it wasn’t until Crime of the Century, their third album, that they would come to the public notice. Ironically, this would also be the time when they moved mostly away from prog rock and towards more, if you will, prog pop, but more of that later. I believe you could be a Supertramp fan and never have heard this album, which would be a pity as it rewards repeat listenings.
Tracklisting: Surely/It’s a Long Road/ Aubade - And I Am Not Like Other Birds of Prey/Words Unspoken/Maybe I’m a Beggar/Home Again/Nothing to Show/Try Again/Shadow Song/Surely (Reprise)
Comments: Anyone who’s seen the Playlist of Life will know that I reviewed this album in full not once, but twice (quite by accident; forgot I had already written one and only realised after it had been posted duh!) so what more can I say about it? Well, in fairness not everyone may have read that, or I should say those reviews, so I won’t take the easy way out. Let me start by noting that, as I mentioned in the Landmark Value section above, this album (and the one that followed it) bear little to no resemblance to the later ones, such as Breakfast in America, Even in the Quietest Moments or Crime of the Century[, with a very soft folk/psych rock direction taken by the fledgling band.

The album is bookended by two versions of the piano ballad “Surely”, a very short one opening the album while a longer version closes it out wonderfully. The first voice we hear is that of Roger Hodgson, one of the founders, and the voice radio listeners would later get used to hearing on hits like “Dreamer”, “It’s Raining Again” and “The Logical Song”. I always thought, whether it was planned or not, the juxtaposition of the two voices - Hodgson’s soft crooning almost feminine voice compared to Rick Davies’ more growling, ragged blues voice - worked really well, and again whether it was deliberate or just coincidence, Davies always tended to take the harder, more mature songs while Hodgson took the lighter, more commercial ones, leading to his being the voice most people would identify as that of Supertramp.

There’s a dark blues feel then to what I suppose you’d have to call the first real track, “It’s a Long Road” with some fine organ from the as-yet-silent Davies, who won’t add any vocals until well into the second side of the album. There’s a fair bit of jamming on this album, and that’s possibly due to the fact that, as stated in (both of my) review(s) Hodgson and Davies were both worried about writing lyrics - the two wrote all the music but the lyrics came from the soon-to-depart guitarist Richard Palmer. Some nice harmonica here too from Davies. The odd title of the third track - “Aubade/And I Am Not Like Other Birds of Prey” - just screams hippy sixties, and indeed the song is a quiet, gentle, reflective piece carried again on organ, soft this time, and “Words Unspoken” is one of my favourites, with a very gentle acoustic line and a sweet vocal from Roger.

Musicians they may be, singers certainly, songwriters (later) absolutely, but here, at least, they were not producers. I can barely hear the vocal (or much else) when “Maybe I’m a Beggar” begins with a sort of Celtic flutey uillean pipes thing going on. It’s very low in the mix. What is? Everything really. Oh, I see it’s a flageolet. Sounds vaguely kinky. Right, now it’s coming more to the fore - not the flogger sorry flageolet but everything, mostly on Palmer’s powerful guitar and Davies’ insistent organ. “Home Again” is barely a minute of acoustic goodness with a soft little vocal before we blast into “Nothing to Show”, where for me the album dips sharply in quality.

I just don’t like the sudden change from what has been, mostly, pastoral folky-ness to a rip-roaring blues freakout, and while it introduces us to the vocals of Rick Davies for the first time, it’s my least favourite track on the album. It’s another of those jams, and to be perfectly and brutally honest, what lyric there is is about as throwaway as it gets. So no, I don’t like it. It’s soon forgotten though as we retreat into the enchanted forest for the beautiful “Shadow Song” as Hodgson puts Davies back in his box and takes over vocals again, then the longest, jammiest track gives us twelve minutes plus of “Try Again”, which isn’t as bad as I remember, not at all. Still not crazy about it though; has that kind of “Echoes” feel - the middle bit, you know? Album closes then as I mentioned on a longer version of “Surely” with a wonderful organ and guitar solo to take us out.

Favourite track(s): Surely/ Aubade- And I Am Not Like Other Birds of Prey/Words Unspoken/Shadow Song/Surely (reprise)
Least favourite track(s): Nothing to Show
Overall impression: In some ways, when I listened to this first, I had a Genesis to Revelation moment, thinking is this the same band? Still, it certainly shows if nothing else the musical talent and vocal talent of the two guys, mostly Hodgson, but like a lot of prog (ish) bands it’s a gentle nudge into the consciousness rather than a kick in the head, or indeed anywhere else.
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Trollheart

Album title: Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Artist: The Mothers of Invention
Nationality: American
Label: Bizarre/Reprise
Chronology: Sixth Mothers album
Grade: C
Landmark value:
Tracklisting: WPLJ/ Igor’s Boogie, Phase One/Overture to a Holiday in Berlin/Theme from Burnt Weeny Sandwich/Igor’s Boogie, Phase Two/Holiday in Berlin, Full Blown/Aybe Sea/Little House I Used to Live in/Valarie
Comments: Kind of a mix of country and doo-wop here, which takes me by surprise, sense of gospel in it too and quite palatable surprisingly, though it is a cover so that might explain it, then “Igor’s Boogie, Phase One” is a mere forty seconds of, well, nothing, nonsense really, knd of a carnival organ then “Overture to a Holiday in Berlin” is another short one, an instrumental on it sounds like harpsichord, not bad really, and on to the theme which is a good vehicle for the guitar talents of Zappa, something that tends to get hidden under all the messing about and sound effects as far as I can see. Nice piano too. Another instrumental. Then another thirty seconds of sillness for “Igor’s Boogie, Phase Two” and then into “Holiday in Berlin, Full Blown”, which is like something out of a Neil Simon movie. Nice piano and some cool sax.

“Aybe Sea” (geddit?) closes out the first side of the album with a nice piano and again what sounds very like a harpsichord tune, and side two has just the two tracks, the first also being by far the longest. “Little House I Used to Live in” runs for over eighteen minutes and by gum it’s good! Another instrumental - says it’s live but I don’t hear it - displaying some amazing talent on the piano, guitar, horns, organ and other instruments from the band. Ending then on another cover (began on one, end on one: nice) which is “Valarie”, a nice little soul ballad.

Favourite track(s): WPLJ, Theme from Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Holiday in Berlin, Full Blown, Aybe Sea, Little House I Used to Live in
Least favourite track(s): Oddly enough, nothing really.
Overall impression: A whole hell of a lot better than I had expected. Can I use the N-word here? I can? Well then, here goes (deep breath): it was…. Normal! Very impressed I must say.
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Trollheart

Album title: If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You
Artist: Caravan
Nationality: English
Label: Decca
Chronology: Second
Grade: A
Previous Experience of this Artist: Zero
The Trollheart Factor: 0
Landmark value: Unsure
Tracklisting: If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You/ And I Wish I Were Stoned/Don’t Worry/ As I Feel I Die/With an Ear to the Ground (You Can Make It/Martinian/Only Cox/Reprise)/Hello Hello/Asforteri 25/Can’t Be Long Now (Francoise/For Richard/Warlock)/Limits
Comments: Another stalwart of the Canterbury Scene, Caravan kick off their interestingly-titled second album with the interesting title track, although it’s far from interesting, quite boring indeed, a sort of blues boogie which seems to ask the question “Who do you think you are?” mostly. “And I Wish I Were Stoned” is better, nice gentle sort of song that reminds me of the Supertramp album reviewed earlier, and “As I Feel I Die” is another soft little thing, driven on gentle organ with a restrained vocal but then it kicks up and gets a bit of life injected into it. Think I preferred it as it was to be honest. Good organ solo though. One of two multi-part suites, “With an Ear to the Ground” is nice, but the problem I’m seeing with Caravan is that it’s all a little, what, bland? There’s nothing that really stands out to me here. Also the sound dips so that it’s sometimes hard to hear what’s being sung or played.

“Hello Hello” has a little more life, but I’m finding it hard to keep my interest in this album; honestly, if, as I read, this was the single, it surely can’t have inspired many to buy the album. It’s just so drab. “Asforteri 25” is a short little instrumental, then the other suite is a proper one, over fourteen minutes and broken into three parts. “Can’t Be Long Now” opens with a soft (yeah again) gentle reflective passage, again barely-audible vocals, then in I what I assume is the second part of the suite it blasts up on warbly organ and gets going, and is decent up to the end, then the final track is a short flute-driven instrumental.

Favourite track(s): And I Wish I Were Stoned
Least favourite track(s): everything else really
Overall impression: Meh. I just don’t get it. I found this quite boring, bland and uninteresting, and have already forgotten any of the melodies. Most of the time it was cut too low for me to hear much. I believe their next album is considered their best, so I’ll hope for a major improvement, but at the moment I sure don’t think much of Caravan.
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Trollheart

Right, so next we move on to… hey! Where are you all going? Come back! Sigh. Well allright, I guess we’ve earned a break. Wait for me! Hold up there! You don’t know what you might encounter out there when you jump

And in fact what we find is the very first prog rock band from South America, Argentina in fact. Oddly enough, given that they seem to have been regarded as “the Argentinian Beatles” (but what influential band has not been guilty of that comparison, often without merit?) they don’t show up at all on Prog Archives, and what little information I can get on them I have to take from Wiki. Basically they seem to have followed somewhat the pattern of Genesis in the beginning: taken under the wing of a patron, in this case Ricardo Kleiman, an impresario who had his own radio show, and who, like Jonathan King with Genesis, insisted on orchestral arrangements on their first works.

Signed to RCa - surely a big deal for a new band - they released two albums before splitting, the second being a double. For whatever reason Wiki only has them down for the second, so perhaps the debut wasn’t considered prog, I don’t know, but this anyway is the one we have to deal with. Sources say Almendra changed the course of Argentinian rock, but not being at all versed in that I couldn’t say. How progressive were they? Let’s see what we can find out about that.

Album title: Almendra II
Artist: Almendra
Nationality: Argentinian
Label: RCA
Chronology: Second
Previous Experience of this Artist: None
The Trollheart Factor: 0
Tracklisting: Toma El Tren Hacia El Sur/Jingle/No Tengo Idea/Camino Dificil/Rutas Argentinas/Vete de Mi, Cuervo Negro/Air de Amor/Mestizo/Agnus Dei/Para Ir/Parvas/Cometa Azul/Florecen Los Nardos/Carmen/Obertura/Amor de Aire/Verde Lano/Leves Instruccuiones/Los Elefantes/Un Pajaro de Sosteine/En Las Cupalas
Comments: You can detect the Latin influence right away, though it sounds like fairly basic rock to me at the moment, especially “No Tengo Idea” but “Camino Dificil” is nice, an acoustic ballad which showcases not only the singer’s powerful voice but also the vocal harmonies of the rest of the band. Who are, as it happens, Luis Alberto Spineta on vocals, guitar and piano, Edelmino Molinari on vocals, guitar and organ, Emilio del Geurcio on bass and Rodolfo Garcia on drums. “Rutas Argentinas” takes us back to a three-chord boogie blues style, and I guess the first real prog-possible song would then be “Agnus Dei” which runs for just over fourteen minutes.

It’s kind of coming across more as psychedelic to me though, some good instrumentation in it certainly - is it all instrumental? I think so. Certainly the last ten minutes or so is. Nice bit of slide guitar and acoustic then on the ballad “Para Ir”, slows things down and “Parvas” keeps it fairly reflective, though with some nice guitar work from Spineta then “Cometa Azul” is a faster rocker but I couldn’t call it prog by any stretch. Yeah, as this goes on I can’t deny they’re a very accomplished band, but there’s nary a shred of prog in here that I can see. Not sure why they were included, but that’s what happens when you scale the wall and go out into the street looking for trouble. Sometimes you find it.

Favourite track(s): Camino Dificil, Para Ir
Least favourite track(s):
Overall impression: Decent rock album, but the Argentinian Beatles? Don’t see it. I suppose though in fairness you’d need to be familiar with the state of Argentinian rock to know whether or not this upended everything, Wiki says it did, so I have to take their word or I’ll be sacrificed to the God of Citing References. Still, not prog in any way, shape or form, not that I can see. Good album though.
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Album title: Cressida
Artist: Cressida
Nationality: English
Label: Vertigo
Chronology: Debut
Previous Experience of this Artist: None
Tracklisting: To Play Your Little Games/Winter is Coming Again/Time for Bed/Cressida/Home and Where I Long to Be/Depression/One of a Group/Lights in My Mind/The Only Earthman in Town/Spring ‘69/Down Down/Tomorrow is a Whole New Day
Comments: A band who flourished - well, existed - on the very fringes of the birth of prog, Cressida were both formed and disbanded by the time the bands we think of as leading the prog rock revolution were beginning to make it. Just the two albums, their second released in 1971, just as the world began to get used to the idea of prog. Sad really.

Now this is what you call prog! Plenty of wibbly, warbly keyboards from Peter Jennings, catchy tunes and a great vocal from Angus Cullen, good use of organ. “To Play Your Little Games” kicks things off nicely, fine vocal harmonies here. “Winter is Coming Again” is more restrained, with liberal Hammond, definitely get a feeling of the Moody Blues here. “Time for Bed” is a rockier, almost jazzy number with a Latin-ish slant, while both the title track and “Home and Where I Long to be” have more than a hint of funk in the guitar. It’s a fugue that opens “Depression”, which, despite its title, is not a ballad or even a slow, morose song, but rather an uptempo rocker with more of that Latin flavour. Really nice piano on “One of a Group”, and while the songs are all pretty good there’s nothing standing out here that shows me these guys were destined to last. Which of course they didn’t.

“Spring ‘69" sounds no more like a song about spring - acoustic, dark, reflective; I mean really nice, but the title might be a bit confusing perhaps. I think the main problem with this band is that while the album started off strongly, it quickly became mostly quite bland and I got bored fairly soon into it, losing all interest. It’s possible further listens would be rewarded, but we have over thirty years to go and I just don’t have the time, so first impressions have to last, and on first impression, here, for me, not good enough. Sorry.



Favourite track(s): To Play Your Little Games, Winter is Coming Again, Spring ‘69
Least favourite track(s):
Overall impression: I guess it was a brutal world out there in the, if you will, world creation period of prog rock, and like many metal bands in the NWOBHM, some just got swept aside. Some may have deserved to be, some may not, and I’m not entirely certain where Cressida belong. They sure had talent, but without question there’s something missing from their music. If they’d figured out what that was, maybe they’d be up there with the greats. Or not.
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